What is PPI and Missold PPI?

Recent revelations have shown that an increasing number of consumers have been confused about payment protection insurance (PPI) and mis-sold PPI. Although the topic has been widely discussed in advertisements for claims management companies and news reports, many of these fail to explain the basic facts about mis-sold PPI, resulting in a mass confusion and unsuccessful compensation claims.

What is PPI?

Payment protection insurance is a form of protection offered with lending products such as mortgages, loans, catalogue credit purchases, credit cards or store cards. It serves the purpose of protecting payments for one year in the case of accident, sickness or unemployment, generally paid either as a one-off fee or as a smaller payment with each repayment. Not all PPI is mis-sold; for many it is a valuable form of insurance which can help protect their loan repayments in unfortunate circumstances. But the mis-selling of PPI was an unethical scandal which affected millions, resulting in lenders being ordered in 2011 to repay billions of pounds.

How was PPI missold?

The mis-selling of PPI mainly occurred over the past two decades, although some claims are made on PPI sold before the 1990s. Payment protection insurance was mis-sold when: It was added to a lending product without the consumers knowledgern The consumer was misled into believing PPI was not optional, or would help with the approval of a loan, credit card or mortgagern The terms and conditions of the PPI policy were not fully explainedrn The consumer was self-employed or unemployed when they were sold the PPIrn The consumer was medically exempt from the policy at time of its sale The mis-sold PPI scandal happened systematically in many high street banks and lenders. PPI repayments generally see customers receiving 15-30% of their total loan balance back; a payment often worth thousands of pounds for each claim. There are many complex restrictions around making a mis-sold PPI claim. You can make a claim after the loan has been closed, providing your account has been active within the last six years. You can also make a claim on open accounts and accounts which are active or have been active within the last six years if your PPI completely has been paid off. There are also ways to claim back mis-sold PPI if you do not have the appropriate paperwork evidence, and even if your credit company has since been taken over.

How can I claim back missold PPI

As claiming back mis-sold PPI is a complex process you should allow an expert claims management company to handle your claim. They should advise you on whether or not you are entitled to compensation for free, before undergoing the complex claims process on your behalf for a no-win, no-fee basis.